What Kate Middleton can expect at her first royal state banquet

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William Hanson explains how to behave at a state banquet
Will be the first time Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, has attended
Never start eating before the queen, and expert speeches before the food

Published: 12:20 EST, 20 October 2015 | Updated: 17:35 EST, 20 October 2015

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Buckingham Palace never fails to produce a gasp of awe, especially at night - and especially when readied for an important event.

It is hard to imagine any grander function than a British state banquet.

There are two state banquets hosted by The Queen each year. Today sees this year’s second, in honour of the People’s Republic of China, who last visited Britain, officially, in 2005.

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The Duchess of Cambridge will attend her first state banquet at Buckingham Palace tonight

Today is the Duchess of Cambridge's first royal state banquet, a very important event in the royal calendar

For a state banquet there will be a cavalcade of cars parading up the Mall and driving through the arch into the inner forecourt and quadrangle, so that guests can alight at the Grand Entrance for the night of a lifetime.

Western table manners do differ somewhat from Eastern, in particular the Chinese etiquette (I spend half my life in China highlighting the differences in styles).

Attitudes to technology at the table vary too, reportedly at the last state banquet for China an official had to stop a visiting guest from bringing in their laptop into the State Ballroom.

There are plenty of fiddly rules of court etiquette that everyone will need to follow and the uninitiated may find confusing, such as the Duchess of Cambridge, who attends her first banquet tonight.

Here’s what tonight’s guests - including the Duchess Of Cambridge, who is attending her first royal state dinner - can expect.

The guest list

Guests include the heads of our political parties and Prime Minister, high commissioners and ambassadors and those with important associations with the country being entertained, together with most of the members of the Royal Family.

Etiquette expert William Hanson explains what Kate can expect including receiving lines and speeches

The Duchess of Cambridge’s presence is logical after her husband’s successful official visit to China last year.

The Prince of Wales is not attending the banquet.

Invitations

The Master of the Household sends out invitations some six weeks before the date of the visit.

As with many royal invitations (technically called ‘Commands’), key guests are telephoned in advance to check their availability so they or their hostess do not lose face when an invitation is turned down.

Chinese culture relies heavily on saving face so this will be much welcomed.

The invitation gives comprehensive information about where to park, what to wear and where to arrive and also includes a presentation card, which is handed in on arrival so that guests can be properly announced.

The dress code

Dress is very grand.

Gentlemen wear full evening dress (the slang name is, ‘white tie’) or full service dress uniform and decorations should always be worn, which means any service medals or honours received.

Her Majesty tries to wear the highest honour presented to her by the visiting country, if any.

For obvious reasons, The Queen does not have any honours from China so it is expected she will wear the customary regalia that accompanies the Order of the Garter, the highest honour in Britain.

See more of the latest news, pictures and video updates on Kate, Duchess of Cambridge

There are plenty of fiddly rules of court etiquette that everyone, including the Duchess, will need to follow

Women wear long dresses, which should be worn with long white gloves. Many now look upon this perhaps as slightly archaic and certainly old fashioned, but it is still the correct form.

The Chinese do not have formal evening dress, they wear a business suit. It is likely that President Xi Jinping will wear this, as did his predecessor Hu Jintao in 2005.

Gloves

Ladies will wear evening gloves with their ball-gowns. Kate should know that these are worn to shake hands and mingle but once seated at the banquet table they should be removed, placed in the lap, with the napkin then on top.

They can be put back on when the guests move elsewhere for coffee.

At the state banquet Kate will be expected to wear a long dress, which should be worn with long white gloves

Receiving lines

Before the dinner, in the drawing rooms, the guests are greeted by the most senior royal courtier, the Lord Chamberlain, and the Mistress of the Robes, who is the most senior lady in waiting.

The guests then go into another room where they are presented to The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and the visiting Head of State and their spouse.

They big mistake many make with receiving lines is lingering too long. This is not an opportunity to exchange small talk and converse with those in the line-up. A few, scant words like ‘Good evening, Your Majesty’ will do before moving to the next person in the line-up.

Guests must remember not to eat before or after the Queen and not to drink during the National Anthem

Guests then make their way to the Ballroom; with the assistance of a huge table plan, they find their places but do NOT sit down, until the royal party has processed in to the National Anthem and taken their seats.

Chinese handshakes do tend to go on a tad longer than British ones – note that when shaking a female royal hand it should be lighter than usual and one pump will do.

Toasts and speeches

Although in many middle-class settings, which Catherine may be more used to, the toasts and speeches usually happen after the dinner, but for state occasions they now happen before the food, an innovation in the last 20 years – royal staff realised people will speak quicker and be less self-indulgent if they know the guests are waiting to eat!

The loyal toast

In China, toasting happens throughout the meal – once the host has made their toast any guest can stand up and propose one and it is custom to drain the glass (thankfully, Chinese wine glasses are much smaller than Western ones!)

But the loyal toast, usually made by the visiting head of state at the end of their speech, is a much more dainty affair.

Kate will have to remember the distinction between pudding, the sweet course, and dessert, the fruit course

All visiting heads of state will have enjoyed Obama’s major faux pas in 2011 when he talked all over the national anthem.

Kate should take note that she is not to raise her glass until the British national anthem has finished. And no clinking!

Dessert not pudding

Many people confuse pudding and dessert, but it is important to get this correct when dining with The Queen.

Pudding is the sweet course; dessert follows and is the fruit course used as the final hoorah for the banquet to cleanse the palate.

Watching The Queen

All guests should keep an eye on The Queen, remembering that you do not start eating before her, or indeed after her.

Once Her Majesty’s cutlery goes down at the end of each course, all guests should follow suit.

That said, The Queen is very considerate of her guests of honour and will slow down somewhat if they still have much food left.

HOW TO REPLY TO A ROYAL INVITATION

Invitations from the Queen are not really ‘invitations’. They are commands.

Unless you have exceptional mitigating circumstances, such as being dead or close to death, they are not declined.

In almost all circumstances, guests will be contacted by telephone well in advance to warn them of the date, so invitations are never turned down.

As with normal invitations, you should reply in the third person and replies should be handwritten and sent back within a couple of days.

A reply should read something like:

Mr John Smith presents his compliments to the Lord Chamberlain and has the honour to obey Her Majesty’s command to attend a luncheon at Buckingham Palace on Friday, fourteenth of May at one o’clock.